Sadly, this is our final post from Assistant Bicycle Coordinator extraordinaire Jojo Pewsawang. Jojo graduated from USC’s graduate Urban Planning program this past summer and wrapped up his time here at LADOT a few weeks ago. We’ll miss his wit, creativity, and follow through tremendously, but wish him all the best in life and in his career. – Nate Baird

When I first started interning at the LADOT Bike Program back in December of 2011, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I only knew one thing with certainty, and that was that I wanted to make a difference. My involvement with the blog came a month or so after I started at DOT. I was reading a post about USC’s proposed bike ban on campus and was just enthralled by the comment thread. People were sharing their personal experiences, exchanging ideas – it revealed to me that the blog was a great place to share perspectives and opinions. Finally, on a post about road diets, I volunteered to help out and the rest is history.

For the next few months, I contributed a few posts here and there. I was lucky to have LADOT Bike Blog founder Chris Kidd around for the first few months of my internship. His steadfast dedication and vision helped me understand the importance of maintaining an open dialogue with the advocacy community and helped shape what would eventually be my goals for the blog. When Chris left, I knew I had big shoes to fill. I wanted to make sure that the blog would continue to be a resource and a forum for Los Angeles bicycle news and information. Building upon that baseline, I wanted to expand the Bicycle Program’s social media presence and how it interacts with the community. We added new contributors, started new series, and created fresh new marketing campaigns to help get the word out. We’ve also expanded our social media presence through the foursquare platform – which allows people to upload photos, share tips, and check-in to our bicycle corral facilities – and instagram. I couldn’t be prouder of everything that the LADOT Bike Program has accomplished this year and can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Thank You

I want to thank everyone at LADOT. These dedicated public servants are working hard to make L.A. a more bike friendly city. Special thanks to Senior Bicycle Coordinator Michelle Mowery and Bicycle Coordinator Nate Baird for your unwavering support and trust. I’d also like to take the time to thank all of my fellow Bike Program Student Professional Workers and Interns: Jessica, Emily, Ricardo, Jose, Kathleen, Eve, Cullen, Jordan, Luan, Gabe, Austin, Glenn, Ken, Ryan, Jon, Justin, Yiming, Darren, and Alex.

Aside from the blog, I also got the chance to work on some interesting projects. A big thank you to Tony Ho for his work on the Bicycle Corral Pilot Expansion. Also special thanks to John Sam, Craig Greene, everyone at the LADOT sign shop and the work crews from Central Yard who fabricated and installed the city’s new bicycle friendly street name signs on Yucca St. out in Hollywood.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank the readers and commenters here on the LADOT Bike Blog – your commitment and interest has made a huge difference in the way bicycling is treated in this city. I thank you for your invaluable comments and insights. They fueled our content and insured that our posts were relevant to you.